“The thing is, to get (Angourie) to that place of comfort, apart from the work Shane (Black, writer and director) did with her, Ryan put a lot of effort into that,” Russell told Cover Media. “Just a few days ago we were having a chat, and I said to him, ‘I just knew you were going to be a great dad when I saw you do that.'

“Because he took time, he was gentle with her, and he was open and she just started to flower because she felt comfortable and she could own the space. It was really cool.”

Ryan, 35, became a first time father in 2014 to daughter Esmeralda, 20 months, just a month before shooting for The Nice Guys began. He and partner Eva Mendes welcomed their second daughter Amada in April (16).

Australian actress Angourie, now 15, has already received rave reviews for the film, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival on 15 May (16).

“There’s a sort of joke we’ve been making Angourie being the most mature person on set, and it’s kind of a joke but it’s kind of real too,” Russell laughed. “She always was prepared; she came ready to give everything she has. You know, she’s got very limited experience, but has a fine intellect and enthusiasm for the craft so it was great.”